Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Review - Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C Targets

This review originally appeared on goodtargets.com, a sister site to this blog.
Lets face it, shooting a paper target can be boring. Reactive targets, however, are endless fun to shoot. As a kid I never shot paper targets, I shot cans, bottles, and army men. Why? Instant gratification. Birchwood Casey's Shoot-N-C targets claim to give you this instant gratification in the form of a paper target. Lets see if they "hit the target" with this claim.

These targets are a bright colored sticker with a coating of black paint that breaks off around the area a pellet or bullet hits. It is very easy to see where you hit from a distance.

Shoot-N-C targets come in many package and target sizes. They have everything from large 12 inch targets to small 1 inch targets. Most of their packages come with an assortment of sizes. A package costs between $5 and $30, depending on the size and quantity of targets. The package I bought to try contains 24 3 inch targets, 36 2 inch targets, and 72 1 inch targets. I paid $4.29 from Amazon.com. While this is more than I would normally pay for targets, I feel that it is a very good deal, considering what I got.

The package contains 12 sheets of targets. They are stickers, so you need to attach them to paper or cardboard.

I took a 3 inch target, stuck it to a piece of cardstock, and shot it a few times with a 22 caliber pellet rifle from about 20 yards. It worked great! I could instantly see exactly where I hit. These targets ARE fun!

The center hole is actually two pellet holes. It is difficult to tell where the pellet hit when they fall this close together.

I noticed a drawback though. Shoot-N-C targets work best at longer ranges where your groups are over 2 inches. My third shot hit within a 1/4 inch of my second. Since that spot had already "exploded" in color I thought I missed the target entirely. I would imagine that after four or five hits on a 3 inch target, it would no longer be usable.

The 1 inch targets are supposed to remedy this problem. You are supposed to stick the 1 inch targets over the places you have already hit, thereby making the target last longer. I tried this next.


The 1 inch targets are supposed to cover the places you have hit, making the targets last longer.

After sticking a 1 inch target over the spot I hit twice I took a few shots at it with a low powered BB gun . I wanted to see if the Shoot-N-C targets worked well with the type of gun a kid might use. This is where we ran into problems.

The BB gun was not powerful enough the knock the black paint off the target. I found myself walking to the target to see if I hit it or not. Also, the 1 inch target did not stick well to original 3 inch target. The first time a BB hit the paper the 1 inch target fell off. This could be due to the cold weather we are experiencing.

The BB gun holes did not "explode" in color. The 1 inch target I placed over the center fell off when a BB landed close to it.

If you are shooting at long ranges, sighting in a scope, or want instant gratification when you hit the bulls eye, Shoot-N-C targets are perfect. They are not useful for low powered BB guns or for shooting tight groups.

I will keep buying Shoot-N-C targets. My favorite are the 1 inch targets. I place them over the bulls eye of a paper target or on the kill zone of a silhouette target as a "reward" for hitting where I aim.

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